


The Smallest Thing

by backtothestart02



Series: 25 Days of Westallen Fanfiction [13]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Romance, but cute coffee baristas can brighten anyone's days, coffee barista!barry allen, job searching is WORK, struggling unemployed!iris west
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 13:07:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17162507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backtothestart02/pseuds/backtothestart02
Summary: AU - Nothing like a cute coffee barista to improve your day.*Written for Day 15 of 25 Days of Westallen Fanfiction





	The Smallest Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Originally called 'Spontaneous Kiss' for Day 15 of my 25 Days of Westallen Fanfiction event on tumblr. I already had a fic called 'Fateful Kiss', so I thought I better switch it up a little. Enjoy!
> 
> *Many thanks to sendtherain for beta'ing.

She was late.

She slept through her alarm. She forgot her car keys. She took a cab that got stuck in traffic, and now she was late for her interview. Her third interview of that week, because she kept calling in to cancel, and she’d just gotten lucky that her dad had connections and these potential employers were patient enough to keep rescheduling interviews for her.

Resigned to the inevitable, she pulled out her phone.

“Hi, my name is Iris West. I have an interview today with-”

“I know who you are, Ms. West. We spoke yesterday.”

She winced. “Right. I don’t suppose you’d mind telling-”

“Will you be cancelling your interview?”

She didn’t bother being offended, in her mind or what she said.

_I’m stuck in traffic… I overslept… Something came up…_

All excuses. The secretary didn’t care for that. All she needed was a yes or no.

“I’m afraid so.”

“Would you like to reschedule?”

She thought about whatever polite thing she could have said. Nothing that she hadn’t before. She needed this job. Or at the very least she needed a job. She’d been unemployed for far too long, and her brother no doubt had grown tired of her sleeping on his couch. But she already had a bad track record with rescheduling countless interviews. What was the likelihood of getting this job even if she was the most qualified person they interviewed?

“Ms.?”

“Yes,” she said, resurfacing back to the phone conversation. “I mean, no. No thank you.”

“You would not like to come in for an interview then, Ms. West?”

She inhaled silently and counted to three.

“No. I’ve found employment elsewhere. Please thank your employer for me.”

The stunned silence was surprising, but she didn’t stop to think about it. She hung up the phone and shook off the tsk’ing voice in her head.

 _You are such a liar_.

“I’ll get off here,” she told the cab driver. He put his foot on the break, though he couldn’t have been going faster than 15 miles an hour for the past ten minutes.

Iris got out of the car, handed the driver his requested fee, and took off down the block.

 _What are you doing, Iris? You’re crazy. Call back. Say you made a mistake. You need that job_.

With some effort of will, she stuffed those anxious thoughts down and stepped into the first coffee shop she saw two blocks down on the corner. Surprisingly it wasn’t that busy, and the scent of coffee and pastries was heavenly. She stopped just inside, closed her eyes, and inhaled the aroma. When she opened her eyes, the barista behind the counter was smiling at her.

“It’s been a day already, hasn’t it?”

She didn’t know how to take that. Some part of her thought she should be offended. Who did this cute, smiley barista think he was? He worked at a coffee shop.

_At least he has a job, Iris._

“Mhmm,” she said, finding herself relaxing under his warm green-eyed gaze.

She took a step closer, eyeing the menu.

“Looking for anything in particular?” he asked when she seemed torn.

“Mmm…I’m not sure. It’s…been a day, like you said.” She tried to laugh it off. “Something that makes me relax but doesn’t make me fall asleep?”

His eyes crinkled in a boyish grin that made her heart speed up.

_It’s been too long since you’ve been out on a date._

“I think I’ve got just the thing,” he said.

She smiled, pulling out her wallet.

“And how much for this magical drink?” she teased lightly.

“Oh, no, it’s on me.”

Her hand stilled, and she looked up at him, surprised.

“I insist,” he said. “It’ll be my pleasure.”

She blew out a gust of wind.

“Well, all right then. If you insist.”

“I do.” His pearly whites shone. “Can I get your name?”

“Iris.”

“Iris. That’s a pretty one.”

She felt her face grow hot.

_It’s a compliment, Iris. One you’ve heard too many times before. Get a hold of yourself._

“Thanks.” She slid onto a stool at the end of the counter and instinctively asked, “What’s yours?”

He turned towards her and lifted his badge to show her. She squinted as she leaned forward to look.

“Barry?”

“Yep. The name my parents gave me.”

She laughed. “It’s a good one.”

“Thanks,” he said cheerfully and resumed making her drink.

A few short minutes later, he had crafted her a hot, caffeinated drink and snatched her a blueberry scone.

“There you go, Iris. Give your drink a taste.”

She did as she was told, hesitant in case it would burn her tongue. She was surprised to find out it didn’t. The taste of caramel, vanilla, chocolate and coffee sent her senses into a delighted whirr that also soothed her already bad morning.

“What’s the verdict?”

“It’s amazing,” she said, then wiped her mouth with a napkin. “What’s it called?”

“This one?” She nodded. “An Iris.”

Her eyes bulged. “Seriously?”

He laughed. “Just made it up now.”

“That’s why it didn’t cost anything? Because it wasn’t on the menu?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been dabbling in new mixed drinks lately, non-alcoholic ones. I thought I’d give it a try at work first.” He leaned forward and whispered, “Don’t tell my boss.”

She grinned. “You have my word.”

He smiled, and she slid off her stool, preparing to leave.

“Have a nice day!” he called out to her when her hand was on the door handle.

And she almost said, ‘thank you’. She almost said her thanks and walked right out of there back onto the street.

But where would she go? What would she do? Grovel? Brood?

She returned to the counter.

“Back for more?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.

“Are you hiring?” she asked, no pretense.

His mouth fell open. “Um…I could ask…”

“If you’re hiring and I apply, could I use you as a reference?”

“Uh, well-”

“Because my day, the last couple weeks have just been awful for me, but today – you – have just, well, you’ve made things better. And…” She licked her lips. “I’d really like to see you again.”

He smiled slowly and leaned across the counter.

“I can ask my boss if we’re hiring, but…” He pulled a pen and piece of paper out of his apron pocket and wrote something on the paper, then slid it over to her. “Here’s my number. Put it in your phone and give me a call. I’ll make sure we see each other again.”

She felt hot again, but she wasted no time not only taking the little slip of paper but also tearing it in half to write down her own name and number and sliding it back. Their hands touched as she made the exchange, and she latched her hand onto the collar of his polo shirt and pulled him to her, planting a kiss on his lips.

He didn’t look as startled as she thought he might when she pulled away, and an easy smile was quick to follow.

“How about you call me first?” she suggested, then took a step back and walked out of the shop.

And okay, yeah, maybe she didn’t go far, and maybe she texted to ask when he got off, and maybe she was there to meet him at the door, and maybe she totally, really loved that he was happy to see her.

“I thought you wanted me to call you first,” he teased.

“Are you complaining?” she looked up at him, her doe eyes clearly doing a number on him.

He brushed his thumb along her jaw and leaned down to kiss her again.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”


End file.
